The invention relates to materials handling apparatus for moving heavy objects and more particularly to a pad which is particularly suitable for moving furniture.
It has been common practice in the furniture moving field to use quilted pads to protect furniture during transit. Conventional quilted pads, as used in the furniture moving industry, are, of course, quite satisfactory for protecting furniture from damage during transport or storage. However, they are not adequate for actual moving.
These pads have not been found to be wholly satisfactory for moving furniture because the person gripping the quilted pad cannot accurately control the direction of movement of the furniture. In addition, such quilted pads are not sufficiently strong to withstand the substantial stresses imposed. They are also awkward to use, since the user who is attempting to move a heavy item of furniture, must first "bunch" or gather the free portion of the quilted pad so that he may then apply a strong pulling force. Although such quilted pads are widely used for skidding furniture, they are never manufactured so as to sustain the forces which are necessary for the movement of heavy furniture. Accordingly, the pads often develop rips after even one day of usage.
Accordingly it is an object of the invention to provide a skid pad apparatus for heavy furniture which is convenient to use.
Another object of the invention is to provide a skid pad apparatus which is durable and which permits the user to exercise greater control over the direction of movement of the heavy article of furniture which is being moved.
It is an object of the invention to provide apparatus which facilitates the handling of heavy objects by a single person and thus reduces the labor required to move such objects.
Still another object of the invention is to provide apparatus which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.